Dynamo Kiev vs Chelsea: Squad, Team news & preview

The Blues are back in continental club action as they look to sweep through to the last eight, buoyed by a hefty first leg advantage

With one foot into the quarter-finals of the Europa League, Chelsea will be hoping to seal the deal in a straightforward fashion when they travel to Ukraine to face Dynamo Kiev on Thursday.

The Blues are unbeaten so far in their continental campaign this season and kept that record intact with a 3-0 victory over their hosts at Stamford Bridge in the first leg last week.

Maurizio Sarri’s side did require a late equaliser from Eden Hazard however to take a point away from Wolves in the Premier League this weekend, suggesting perhaps that their pre-Carabao Cup final woes are not fully put to bed.

Regardless, their trip to the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex presents them with a great opportunity to confirm themselves as frontrunners for European glory – and with all other hopes of silverware over for the year, their manager will be keen to bolster his standing after a rocky few months.

TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch

In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).

New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.

In the UK, the game will be broadcast on BT Sport 3 and will be available for streaming on the BT Sport Live app.

Squads & Team News

Alyaksandr Khatskevich is still unable to call upon star striker Fran Sol, who will be out for around a month and a half with a shoulder injury.

Benjamin Verbic is however back after missing last week’s clash through suspension.

Potential Dynamo Kiev starting XI: Boyko; Kedziora, Burda, Shabanov, Mykolenko; Shepeliev, Sydorchuk; Tsygankov, Shaparenko, Buyalskyi; Rusyn.

Maurizio Sarri has no fresh injury concerns, and having rotated his squad for the draw against Wolves, may opt for a similar line-up as he did against Dynamo last week.

Eden Hazard therefore might be rested, particularly with the international break looming.

Potential Chelsea starting XI: Arrizabalaga; Zappacosta, Christensen, Luiz, Alonso; Jorginho, Kovacic, Barkley; Pedro, Giroud, Willian.

Betting & Match Odds

Chelsea are the slight favourites to prevail and are priced at 6/5 with bet365. Dynamo Kiev are meanwhile available at 13/5 while a draw is 12/5.

Match Preview

Having given themselves what very well may be an insurmountable advantage with their first leg victory, Chelsea head to Ukraine to face Dynamo Kiev for a Europa League quarter-final spot on Thursday.

The Blues swept aside their visitors at Stamford Bridge in the reverse last week, delivering an emphatic 3-0 win to keep their spotless record on the continent this season intact.

It provided yet another boost for Maurizio Sarri following a difficult new year that has seen a resurgence over the past few weeks.

With their hopes of domestic silverware over – and their chances of qualifying for the Champions League reliant on a downturn in form for both Arsenal and Manchester United – the club know that their best passage to the premier European competition may very well be to lift this trophy instead.

However, a slight blip at the weekend, when Eden Hazard’s late strike was required to rescue a point against a tenacious Wolves, proved that ‘Sarriball’ was still having some teething troubles in its application.

Ahead of that encounter, Sarri went so far as to offer the idea las that his blowout with Kepa during the Carabao Cup final has served as a positive impetus for the team going forward.

"In the end, the Kepa situation was a good thing for our group, too," he stated.

"In the last five matches, we won four matches and drew against Manchester City. In five matches, we conceded only one goal. So we are improving in consistency.

"But we have to be careful. We had a long period of good results in the past and then, suddenly, two weeks of disaster. So we have to be careful."

Sarri also added that he felt his side could do more to support Jorginho, who has been a favoured player for the Italian since his arrival, but is widely seen as a weak link by pundits elsewhere.

“Jorginho, if the other players do not move without the ball, is in trouble, because he is really very able to play with one touch," he added.

“Of course if you want to play with one touch you need movements with the other players.

“I know him very well. He can go in trouble if all the rest of the team is not moving.